News of Another School Shooting Interrupts VP’s Press Conference on Gun Control

In a moment that is all too telling about the realities of living in the United States today, CNN’s coverage of Vice President Joe Biden’s press conference about the need for changes to gun control policy was interrupted by a Breaking News report announcing that 2 people had been shot at a high school in Taft, California this morning. The suspect is in custody.

During the meeting, Biden floated the idea of implementing “universal background checks, not just closing the gun show loophole” and limiting the availability of high capacity magazines. “The last area is the whole subject of the ability of any federal agency to do research on gun violence,” he said.

The United States has experienced at least 33 school shootings since Columbine. Some of the violence occurred near Taft High School.

About Joanna Schroeder

Joanna Schroeder is a feminist writer and editor with a special focus in issues facing raising boys and gender in the media. Her work has appeared on Redbook, Yahoo!, xoJane, MariaShriver.com, TIME.com, and more. She and her husband are outdoor sports enthusiasts raising very active sons. She is currently co-editing a book of essays for boys and young men with author and advocate Jeff Perera. Follow her shenanigans on Twitter.

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9 Comments on "News of Another School Shooting Interrupts VP’s Press Conference on Gun Control"

The weapons you’re most likely referring to are now called “homeland defense weapons.” Assault weapons are worth $10K+. Thanks.

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Richard Aubrey

3 years 10 months ago

Archy.
WRT mental health initiatives. See the Rosenhan experiment. Good info, including Wiki.

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Archy

3 years 10 months ago

I saw someone mention this attacker targeted people, for some reason that sounds like he only wanted to harm a few people in particular. Was he bullied? It doesn’t sound like a typical random-target school shooting but more of a targeted hit. “When, and how, will it end? When will our children be safe?” Your children aren’t safe even if there were no firearms, bullying is rife in schools and has long-lasting damages (for me it meant 10+ years of major social anxiety, depression, lack of employment). How will it end? Probably never will, we can try to make mental… Read more »

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Kacerdias

3 years 10 months ago

Cue the hoplophobic media hysteria ramming gun control as a panacea for mental illness to “save the children” in 5… 4… 3…

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William

3 years 10 months ago

How many school shootings have there been in countries with gun control, do you know? A quick and not completely reliable check says: In the entirety of Europe in the last 100 years there have been 20. In South America there have only been 13 recorded in 80 years. In Canada there have been 11 in over 100 years. In the U.S. there have been 20 in 12 years. And over 100 in 60 years. It reached so many that Wikipedia have shortened the list to “notable” shootings, because you know if only one or two kids are shot, who… Read more »

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Richard Aubrey

3 years 10 months ago

William. The shootings that seem to get the ink, and promote massive efforts to “do something” are pretty much crazy white boys shooting up places where up-scale white folks go to school or congregate–malls or theaters in white neighborhoods. The rest, some guy brings a gun to school and shoots somebody he really doesn’t like, doesn’t bother the chattering classes very much at all. Hardly raises a ripple. But those are most of the actual shootings, and those are where the cumulative victim count comes from. And the shootings out on the streets? Meh. Nobody who is anybody,except the next… Read more »

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brasinburst

3 years 10 months ago

cue the apologists for gun nuts who absolutely must have their assault weapons at all costs in 5…4…3…

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Archy

3 years 10 months ago

Cue the people overlooking the fact it wasn’t an assault rifle in 5….4….3…

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Copyleft

3 years 10 months ago

Cue the hysterical wingnut accusations of a carefully-timed conspiracy in 5… 4… 3….